Sunday, 17 June 2012

Nearing the end: Brazil

It was with heavy hearts and bodies longing for our own bed back home that we set off for Brazil. Sao Paulo did nothing to improve our spirits being a big, modern, busy city with heavy traffic and miserable weather. But we needed a day to rest and do laundry and check our mails and so we stayed put. The next day we made a stupid mistake. Tired of airports and flights we booked a 17 hour bus trip to Foz de Iguassu, convincing ourselves that we would sleep on the way and arrive refreshed the next day and visit the waterfalls...

Of course this did not happen. Our seats were located right at the back of the bus and the smells from the toilet as well as my fears of the bus driver falling asleep kept me awake. We arrived almost 20 hours later, exhausted, stiff and more miserable than when we had left. Luckily, we had already booked a hotel and a taxi ride later saw us settled there. After a shower and a meal we took a nap and the rest of the day we enjoyed the sunshine in Foz, a quaint little town which was quite refreshing after the big city of Sao Paulo. That night we found a sushi bar and enjoyed the first delicious meal since leaving Chile (Brazilian, like Portuguese food, is somewhat bland and to make up for this they add an immense amount of salt) and our spirits finally lifted as we drank caiparinhas with strawberries...

The next day we took a bus to Iguassu falls. The widest waterfalls in the world (it spans 2-3 km), it has a Brazilian and an Argentinian border. The park is absolutely huge and very beautiful! Huge green trees everywhere and well maintained roads that are only accessible using the park bus. It even has two large hotels within the park! We took a boat ride along the river to see the falls close up. We were advised that we would get quite wet and so I bought the touristy plastic poncho and one for our cameras, (wim opted for his swim shorts and bare chest), but I need not have bothered. The boat driver does his absolute best to make sure that everyone gets absolutely soaked, rain poncho or not! The boat took us right under the falls numerous times (just in case the water did not get inside the poncho the first few times). Brazilians see it as a kind of spiritually cleansing process and I could see why. Standing under the waterfalls with the water pouring on your face and body and with rainbows all around you is exquisite. There is nothing like that feeling. We closed our eyes and captured the moment...

After a lunch spent chasing the Brazilian version of the Dassi away from our food (quite fat from being fed by tourists and not at all afraid of us humans) we did a 1.5 km walk along the falls. Man made bridges and look out points affords one the most breath taking views. We could have spent hours there just watching the water (which falls at speeds of 2200mm3/sec), the rainbows and the river.

We finished off the day with a visit to the bird sanctuary. This was spectacular as well. We walked among parrots, flamingos, ravens, hawks and many other bird species in all God’s colours. Flaming reds, bright yellows and all the colours of the rainbow, and then mixed and matched to create a dazzling display of colour. Sadly, many of these birds are threatened species, but Wim caused me to burst out laughing by shouting “hang in there, guys!” to one cage of threatened birds.

Wim doing what he loves

We can only imagine how magnificent the Amazon must be. Visiting that as well as the Argentinian side of the falls (which makes up 80% of the falls) will have to wait for our next tripJ because we are off to Rio!!!

Rio de Janeiro: ending off in style

Rio did not disappoint. Stepping off the plane into blue skies and sunshine, samba beats and drop dead gorgeous women with long hair on stilettos as long as my arm, people of all colours wearing shorts and haivaianas, this was the Brazil we had in mind. The capital’s city centre is huge and boasts buildings and cathedrals that reek of Portuguese ancestry. The druggies were nowhere to be seen, but one can imagine them lurking under the graffiti bridges or living in one of Brazil’s infamous favelas or ghettos as we know it. These are built high on the hills and one of them has a trail that leads right onto the beach the Marriot hotel claims is private! Imagine the super rich in their diamond studded bikinis looking up from their sunbathing to see the township kids splashing in the water in front of them!!

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Flamingo bay

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one of the favelas

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Our hotel was located on a road leading off the main road from Copacabana beach, so we were within walking distance of everything. We did a touristy bus tour (to avoid wondering the streets with a map and being walking targets for muggings) the next day and visited sugar loaf mountain. Here a trip up the cable car also a afforded us spectacular views of all of Rio’s beaches, and harbour as well as views of the north and the south of the city, very distinctly separated into rich and poor of course...

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View from sugar loaf mountain

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A bus trip around the city centre showed us more of the two districts as well as taking us past the stadiums where the carnival is held every year. We also visited the football stadium where the 1950 and 1954 world cup finals were held...In 1954, this was filled with 60 000 people, and when Brazil lost, many people committed suicide. When questioned as to their reasons, the tour guide, a women, but one who loved soccer herself, said that then Brazilians used to play football for love, now they play for money....this goes for the rest of the world as well, we suppose...This stadium is one of many under re-construction for 2014...

We also visited a huge cathedral which can apparently hold 80 000 people, which has no lights, but uses only natural light to illuminate it, absolutely stunning!

After another buffet lunch (buffets are the norm in Brazilians restaurants and we were now becoming quite saturated with it), we headed off to the Christ the Redeemer Sanctuary. This is the famous ‘Jesus on the mountain monument’ we see whenever shots of Brazil are aired on television. A 20 m high statue, it is built entirely out of concrete and covered with soapstone and is constantly charged with electricity to keep the birds from pooping on or near it. It was built to honour the anniversary of Brazil’s independence from Portugal. As Christ overlooks the city, his hands are spread wide to bless the north and the south located on either side of the statue. We took the train to the top, but man! What a tourist spot! Too many people crowded into this small space and everyone wanting to copy the Jesus pose of course! Wim and I took off as soon as we could...but its another 30 minute wait for a train which takes 25 minutes to get to the bottom, but still, been there, down that, got the photo...

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View from Christ the Redeemer Sactuary

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Our second last day was spent on the beach. We rented bicycles and rode along the well demarcated bicycle paths along Copacabana and Epanema beach. But it was Sunday, and this meant that the whole of Rio was on the beach. Forget the women, Brazilian men are just as hot, or at least their torsos are because that was as far as my eyes got before my bike whizzed past! Bronzed, toned bodies are jogging, cycling, walking, skating or rollerblading everywhere. Pregnant women or couples or families out for a stroll could be seen everywhere, and this was not even on the sand where many could be seen to be playing beach volleyball or other ball games. Those less active were enjoying meals or cocktails at the cafe’s along the beach front...

Copacabana beach

As the sun set over Rio, so our 4 month sabbatical, escape, call it what u may, came to an end. We know that we may never again get the opportunity we have just had to get away from it all for 4 months. Away from society, consumerism, weekends and week nights spent at work or in front of the computer instead of with each other...We know that very soon life will continue again as before, despite new promises to go on more hikes, watch more sunsets, make time for family and each other. We can only hope that during the stressful times that we will remember the days when all we had to do was walk in the mountains, lie on a beach or watch a waterfall..Days when we would spend hours enjoying meals, chatting to people or walking through markets...We hope that when the dishes are piled high, groceries need to be bought, and the house is a mess, one of us has just finished a 30 hour shift and the other has been awake for an equal number of hours finishing a deadline, that we will close our eyes and hear salsa music on a warm night under the stars, smell the mountain air in the Andes and feel the water from a Brazilian waterfall on our faces....these were our gifts, and these are the things we will carry in our hearts...